A blog about cars and driving

The State Of Our Roads

Ah yes, the state of our highways; a matter of long-standing, much discussed concern. Sadly, little progress seems to have been made because the condition and maintenance of Britain’s local roads continues to disappoint many UK drivers. Motoring Organisation the RAC have issued their Report on Motoring (HERE) which has found that 51% of road-users think local road conditions have worsened in the past year.

The state of our roads is not the biggest issue with motorists however. The award for that dubious accolade is won by people who continue to use mobile phones while on the move, despite it being illegal. Nevertheless 33% of those surveyed still rank our roads as being a top four concern.

The following statistics, illustrated by the Report on Motoring Interactive Map (HERE), show how much road-users worry when it comes to potholes and congestion.

Statistics

Potholes:

In 2017 10% of drivers said that the state of local roads is the most important issue, down from 14% 12 months ago.

51% of motorists think local road conditions have worsened in the past year. This was the same proportion as in 2016. At present, only 7% say conditions have improved – down from 9% last year.

The East Anglian region returned the highest percentage (63%) of motorists who stated that the pothole problem had become worse in their area.

While 59% of motorists in Greater London said that road conditions (potholes) had stayed the same.

Meanwhile, more than a quarter of all drivers (26%) say congestion is a top-four concern.

A majority of drivers think that congestion has increased on high speed dual carriageways (57%), urban A roads (58%) and other urban routes (55%).

Top three reason why motorists think congestion levels have increased in towns and cities in the last 12 months:

More vehicles on the road (65%)

More road works (54%)

More trucks and delivery vehicles blocking roads (36%).

Have we begun to accept that this sorry state of affairs is how it will always be? David Bizley, Chief Engineer of the RAC has the last word:

“The decline in overall concern about potholes and the state of local roads could simply be a result of motorists becoming accustomed or resigned to road surfaces being in poor repair. This has certainly been an issue for some time now.”